Joseph Muscat is living his last days as leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister.

On Friday, he will be delivering his last address in both roles at the start of a Labour Party congress which is to elect his successor.

Once the election is over, Muscat will be resigning and the winner, after being acclaimed the new leader of the Labour Party, will also take over as Prime Minister.

Some 17,500 Labour Party members will be voting on Saturday to elect their new leader.

Here are some points to ponder.

New leader and new PM

It is the first time since Independence that Labour will be electing a new leader while it is in government.

In the last 55 years, Labour changed leadership three times – From Dom Mintoff to Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, then onto Alfred Sant and, lastly to Joseph Muscat.

The changeover from Mintoff to Mifsud Bonnici was held under a Labour government in 1984 – but that time no election had been held. Mifsud Bonnici was the anointed one, chosen by Mintoff to succeed him.

When Mifsud Bonnici resigned after the 1992 election defeat, he was replaced by Alfred Sant. And when Sant resigned after the 2008 election loss, he was replaced by Muscat. In both instances, the election was held with Labour in Opposition.

Muscat resigns

Muscat announced his resignation on 1 December, but he said he will make way once the Labour Party elects his successor on 12 January.

Since then, Muscat has been abroad at least five times, and practically the country has been at a standstill. Calls for his immediate resignation went unheeded. Businessmen complained of a slowdown and shop owners claimed that sales were hit because of the uncertainty.

Muscat resigned after his office was linked to the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. Former chief of staff Keith Schembri and former Minister Konrad Mizzi also quit.

Muscat led as Prime Minister for six and a half years, just two-thirds of the length of time of two full legislatures. The first was cut short by a year, from five to four, as the country reeled from the Panama Papers revelations, and then he resigned midway through his second term.

The Labour Party still has two-and-a-half years to serve its term in government. The next election must be held by September 2022.

Two men for one job

Chris Fearne, who is deputy Prime Minister, and Robert Abela, a backbencher, are contesting the post of PL leader and, also the main seat in Castille.

That only two candidates threw in their hat has made it an easier process for the party administration.

Had there been three or more contestants, a preliminary election would have been necessary to whittle down the number of contestants to two. As it happened, only one election is to take place, on Saturday.

The voters

Voting will take place on Saturday between 8am and 8pm, in 13 venues, representing the 13 electoral districts, including one in Gozo.

The voting process will be the middle part of the PL congress which will start on Friday with an address by caretaker PM and leader Joseph Muscat, and come to an end on Sunday with an address by the newly-elected leader.

The number of voters eligible to cast their preference is around 17,500, far more than the number that elected Muscat. In the last election for PL leader, only the delegates could vote. Now this election is open to party members.

The voters include delegates of the party’s general conference (who include MPs), members and officials of the various committee, councillors, candidates and paid-up members since 2015.

Members younger than 20 need to have paid their membership for three years to be eligible to vote, while any member who did not pay up in the last two years is eligible so long as the arrears are settled before the election takes place.

Election day

Once the voting is over at 8pm on Saturday, all 13 ballot boxes will be transferred to the Labour Party headquarters, where the counting of votes will take place. All boxes need to arrive before the counting starts, meaning that this could take up to two hours given that one of the boxes will have to be brought from Gozo.

It is likely that the counting process will take us into the early hours of Sunday, when the official result will be made known.

The new leader will be addressing the party congress at 4pm on Sunday.

Muscat had said that Labour will have a new leader on 12 January and that he would resign in the days that followed. But no date has been set for the official take-over of the new Prime Minister. It is possible that the swearing-in of the new Prime Minister will also take place on Sunday, before the new leader addresses the congress. But Monday or Tuesday could also be an option. The President’s Office has issued a notice to the media to apply for accreditation for the swearing-in ceremony, but no date was given.

It is also possible that a press conference will be called on Sunday morning for the new leader to address the media.

The two contenders

Chris Fearne, 56, is a paediatric surgeon by profession, a father of three. He was elected for the first time to Parliament in 2013, and was named parliamentary secretary for health in 2014. He was later promoted to Health Minister in 2016. He was elected PL deputy leader for parliamentary affairs in 2017, and has since been serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House. He retained the Health Ministry portfolio after the 2017 election.

Robert Abela, 42, a lawyer by profession, is married to Lydia and they have a daughter. He was elected to Parliament for the first time in 2017. He is the son of former president George Abela, who is the only President to have been named to the post by a Prime Minister from the opposing political party, namely Lawrence Gonzi. Robert Abela has served as a legal consultant to Joseph Muscat’s cabinet.

The 2008 election

George Abela had been beaten by Muscat in the last election for Labour leader, which took place in 2008.

Muscat had obtained 875 votes against Abela’s 574 in the second and final round.

A first round had also seen the participation of Michael Falzon, Evarist Bartolo and Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, who were eliminated.

In that first round, Muscat was just three votes away from being elected directly – he had collected 435 of 874 valid votes cast, when he had required 438 votes.

Abela had finished in second place with 200 votes, followed by Falzon with 181 votes, Bartolo with 32 votes and Coleiro-Preca with 26 votes.